Taiwan Lantern Festival Celebrations

The annual Lantern Festival in Taiwan, which is based on the lunar calendar, was celebrated on Feb. 15 with a lot of fireworks. There were lantern festival celebrations all over Taiwan—in Pinghsi of Taipei, Yanshui in Tainan, Taitung and Miaoli. The six most famous lantern festivals displayed lavish and colorful lanterns and set off fireworks. They attracted millions of people in Taiwan to join the explosive festivities and kick off the Year of Tiger with a lot of sparks and energy!

Setting Off Heavenly Lanterns in Pinghsi Area of Taipei

The 2010 Heavenly Lantern Festival in Pinghsi was held on Feb. 28 at the Shifen Heavenly Lantern Square which was decorated with azaleas. Many brought their entire family or their friends to join the festivities. The noise of the fireworks was heard from day to night, attracting everyone’s attention. At night, the sparks of fireworks lit up the evening sky.

The President of The Republic of China (Taiwan), Ma Yingjiu, and the mayor of Taipei, Chou Siwei, lit up the largest lantern which was 20 feet high and in the design of a blue bird. The organizer also provided 2,600 free heavenly lanterns for the audience to set aloft for the purpose of wishing for good luck. The festival that day attracted nearly half a million people.

Bee Sting Fireworks in Yanshui, A Symbol of Prosperity

There were approximately 200 walls or “beehives” of bee sting fireworks in Yanshui, which attracted the attention of 12 foreign media representatives. In the evening, tourists continued to flow into Yanshui to experience the bee sting fireworks and to wish for prosperity. Men carrying divine statues seated on sedan chairs toured all over Yanshui, bombarded by 24 fireworks walls. The fireworks bombardment started at 6:30 p.m. and lasted until 2:30 a.m. the next day with the finale fireworks “attack” at Funan Temple.

The annual “Bee Sting” fireworks held at the Lantern Festival are a famous folk activity in Taiwan. Legend has it that Yanshui used to be plagued by epidemics. People of stature in Yanshui finally decided to carry the statue of a divine being named Guan Yunchang on a sedan chair and set off fireworks at it to “wake” the god up to help. Finally, the epidemics ceased. Since then, it has been an annual ritual in Yanshui, a tradition for over 100 years.

Bombing of Han Dan Reenacted by a Live Person

Taitung’s version for the Lantern Festival is to set off fireworks at Han Dan (an historical character), re-enacted with a live person. A topless actor dressed in red pants played Han Dan and he fought off fireworks with a leafy branch while standing on top of a sedan chair. The colorful sparks and smoke from the fireworks added additional awe value to the event. In Taitung, there were 12 performances of the Bombing Han Dan ritual.

Taitung’s Lantern Festival has become part of the tourist attractions there.

According to the Taitung city government, the Lantern Festival is a way to preserve and pass down the precious folk culture to the next generation. The goal is to preserve folk culture, folk arts, and traditional craftsmanship. The festival is also about educating people to respect divine beings, to pray for good fortune, to get rid of demons and bad luck, to tell right from wrong, and to do good deeds.

Bombarding Dragons in Miaoli

The annual ritual of bombarding dragons has, for the past 12 years, become one of the three main attractions of the Lantern Festival. On the evening of Feb. 28, the dragon bombarding show organized by the Miaoli city government was, perhaps, the most colorful event that night.

The most visually amazing part of the show happened when a large number of fireworks were shot at the dragon dance team. In order to avoid the fireworks, the team had to keep hopping about which made the dragon look like it was dancing and twitching. Many people appeared to feed on the excitement and kept cheering for the dragon dance team.